Shell International Ltd. has been fined a record £300,000 and ordered to pay costs of £45,000 after pleading guilty to three breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order at the Inner London Crown Court on 2nd June 2009. This is the largest penalty under the legislation to date.
The company was prosecuted by the London Fire Brigade following two small fires at the Shell Centre on London's South Bank in the space of three weeks.
A subsequent inspection on 12th January 2007 concluded that there were extensive breaches such as blocked escape routes and fire exits, defective doors and excessive fire loading, which had been considerably increased due to refurbishments taking place in the upper floors.
The Shell Tower and basement levels were restricted after the London Fire Brigade served a prohibition notice. This stated only people who were working to remedy the fire safety deficiencies were allowed to enter these parts of the building. An inspection carried out on 15th January 2007 showed that all of the fire safety failings had been taken care of and ultimately the prohibition notice was lifted.
It was also found that the company’s fire risk assessment had not been reviewed or updated since March 2003. The London Fire Brigade said that the condition of the general fire precautions in the building had deteriorated.
"Shell failed to respond properly to their risk assessment for three and a half years and had it not been for the fires which led to the inspection, it could have been considerably longer," said assistant commissioner Steve Turek. "Had Shell acted upon the findings of the 2003 risk assessment at the time, they would have avoided putting their staff at risk."
The first of the fires was on 19th December 2006 in the early hours of the morning, in which four fire engines and 20 fire fighters attended the scene. The second occurred on 5th January 2007, which was started by cutting equipment setting fire to insulation material. Forty people evacuated the building before the London Fire Brigade arrived.
London fire commissioner, Ron Dobson, said: "This conviction shows that major companies are not exempt from prosecution and must take their responsibilities under the RRO seriously."
Commenting in response to the conviction, a spokesperson for Shell said: "We are sorry for the shortcomings but must emphasise there were no injuries to people. We put things right immediately and have also had an independent review of our fire safety plans and condition of the building. Shell Centre is safe and we are complying fully with the law."
The company was prosecuted by the London Fire Brigade following two small fires at the Shell Centre on London's South Bank in the space of three weeks.
A subsequent inspection on 12th January 2007 concluded that there were extensive breaches such as blocked escape routes and fire exits, defective doors and excessive fire loading, which had been considerably increased due to refurbishments taking place in the upper floors.
The Shell Tower and basement levels were restricted after the London Fire Brigade served a prohibition notice. This stated only people who were working to remedy the fire safety deficiencies were allowed to enter these parts of the building. An inspection carried out on 15th January 2007 showed that all of the fire safety failings had been taken care of and ultimately the prohibition notice was lifted.
It was also found that the company’s fire risk assessment had not been reviewed or updated since March 2003. The London Fire Brigade said that the condition of the general fire precautions in the building had deteriorated.
"Shell failed to respond properly to their risk assessment for three and a half years and had it not been for the fires which led to the inspection, it could have been considerably longer," said assistant commissioner Steve Turek. "Had Shell acted upon the findings of the 2003 risk assessment at the time, they would have avoided putting their staff at risk."
The first of the fires was on 19th December 2006 in the early hours of the morning, in which four fire engines and 20 fire fighters attended the scene. The second occurred on 5th January 2007, which was started by cutting equipment setting fire to insulation material. Forty people evacuated the building before the London Fire Brigade arrived.
London fire commissioner, Ron Dobson, said: "This conviction shows that major companies are not exempt from prosecution and must take their responsibilities under the RRO seriously."
Commenting in response to the conviction, a spokesperson for Shell said: "We are sorry for the shortcomings but must emphasise there were no injuries to people. We put things right immediately and have also had an independent review of our fire safety plans and condition of the building. Shell Centre is safe and we are complying fully with the law."
No comments:
Post a Comment